The Green Bay Packers spent most of free agency fortifying the offense around quarterback Aaron Rodgers. As a result, the defense received little attention throughout the offseason.
The Packers managed to somewhat address this issue through the 2018 NFL Draft. However, linebacker Clay Matthews feels Green Bay is a bit thin on the edge going into the 2018 NFL season, via Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“You look at the depth at the outside linebacker position, and it’s not that great,” Matthews said. “That’s not a slight to the guys who are behind Nick and myself, but you look around the league, a lot of times they’re rotating in pass rushers. You can look a couple years ago when we had Mike Neal and Julius [Peppers] here, Datone [Jones] as well. We had a pretty good rotation.”
Matthews added that although he is pleased with the team's selections, it remains to be seen whether or not they will be able to do their part.
“I’m happy with the picks they made,” Matthews said. “And at the same time, it does show, you know, their confidence in Nick and myself, as well as the guys we have. At some time I’m sure [depth at outside linebacker] will be addressed, but for the time being, the guys we have here are the guys who have to hold up their end of the bargain.”
Matthews' comments may be perceived as a bit of a swipe at the front office. However, there is still plenty of truth to them. The Packers are renowned for having a bevy of formidable edge rushers at their disposal in year's past. But it appears the team has taken a different approach this time around.
There is no doubt that both Matthews and linebacker Nick Perry are more than capable of handling a heavy workload. However, the lack of depth will force them to play more often which inevitably puts them at risk for injury. It goes without saying that having viable backups will pay huge dividends toward keeping these guys healthy down the final stretch of the season.
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